Across Apps, Devices, and Web sites, Nuance Personal Assistants Reinvent Our Conversations with Tech - and Brands - and 83% of Consumers Like What they Hear

LAS VEGAS and BURLINGTON, Mass., - January 7, 2014 - Nuance Communications today shared findings from recent surveys that explored consumer preferences related to trends and preferences for personal assistants across consumers' mobile and Web experiences. According to the survey results, most consumers (83%) prefer having the option to converse with their personal assistants on their smartphones. As consumers have become accustomed to talking with their phones, TVs, PCs, cars, and wearable devices, this conversational interaction has become an expectation when it comes to engaging with brands via mobile apps and the Web as well. In fact, 71% of consumers would prefer the human-like interaction that virtual assistants deliver on a Web site as opposed to static pages.

This week at CES 2014, Nuance is demonstrating significant innovations in conversational customer service experiences that leverage Nuance's natural language understanding (NLU) to provide human-like personal assistant interactions through its Nina platform. Nina was the first solution to bring speech-based personal assistant capabilities to mobile customer service apps and, since that time, leading brands such as Coca-Cola, Geico, Jetstar, USAA, and Windstream have chosen Nina to significantly enhance the experience of both their mobile and Web consumer interactions. With Nina, consumers can simply ask for what they want, through speech or text, to more easily get information or support, make purchases or check on transactions.

"How brands choose to engage with their customers has never been more important," said Robert Weideman. "In fact, 90% of consumers note that a positive experience with a company's mobile app makes them more likely to continue doing business with that company. Competition to keep existing customers, attract new customers, and build brand loyalty is fierce today. A key differentiator is the type of experience that brands can provide to their consumers - is it conversational, interactive, convenient? We've seen that consumers will engage more often and deeply with a business that can deliver a more personalized experience, and it's the brands that can deliver that type of engagement that will stand out."

Additional findings from the recent surveys include the following:

  • 83% of consumers said that they would prefer the option of a conversational dialogue with their personal assistant on their mobile device
  • 86% of people use a mobile app to engage with a company or service provider
  • 90% of consumers say that a positive experience with a company's mobile app makes them more likely to continue doing business with them
  • Of those that use mobile apps to engage with companies, 73% say they chose to engage that way because its more convenient
  • 71% say it would be easier using a mobile banking app to pay your Visa bill or transfer money from one account to another through natural requests, instead of tapping through several menus
  • 60% of people said that they would be likely to use a more natural, conversational interaction for self-service in their mobile apps, if their bank, retailer, insurance company, or other service provider offered it
  • 63% of people say that they would be likely to use a company's website if they offered a more natural, conversational interaction for self-service on the site
  • More than 58% of consumers are unable to resolve their issues on the Web, despite their best efforts, and 71% would prefer a virtual assistant over static Web pages

More information regarding these recent surveys, as well as more information about Nuance's Nina, can be found on Nuance's Customer Experts blog.

FOR MEDIA: Nuance will be participating in CES 2014, taking place January 7-10 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. To schedule an appointment for an interview or demonstration of Nuance technology, please contact Lora Friedrichsen (GRC for Nuance) at 949-929-7234 or nuancecare@globalresultspr.com.

About Nuance Communications, Inc

Nuance Communications, Inc. is a leading provider of voice and language solutions for businesses and consumers around the world. Its technologies, applications and services make the user experience more compelling by transforming the way people interact with devices and systems. Every day, millions of users and thousands of businesses experience Nuance's proven applications. For more information, please visit www.nuance.com.

Nuance and the Nuance logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Nuance Communications, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States of America and/or other countries. All other company names or product names may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Nuance Contact:
Erica Hill
Nuance Communications
781-888-5518
erica.hill@nuance.com

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